Sorting-rack for rough-dry laundry



F. L. AUEROCHS.

SORTING RACK FOR ROUGH DRY LAUNDRY.

APPLICATION HLED APR-28.1916.

Patented June 10, 1919.

2 figs-SHEET I.

2.345 678 SIOHIZ'BIAIS WWI/mo.

FRANK'L. AUEROCHS, OF BENSON, NEBRASKA.

SOR'IING-RACK FOR ROUGH-DRY LAUNDRY. R

Application filed April 28, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK L. AUnRooIis, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Benson, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sorting- Racks for Rough-Dry Laundry, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to racks or supports for detachably sustaining articles of clothing and the like in definitely-assorted groups, and is particular] intended to facilitate the sorting and clocking of laun dried articles while in a rough-dry condition. It is the object of my invention to provide in a device for this purpose, a plurality of closely-spaced inclined supporting-arms adapted to be engaged by ordinary markingpins to sustain the articles attached to said pins; to provide means for separately designating the several arms, said means being arranged so that the identifying marks are positioned immediately adjacent to the ends of the several arms, and so that the member on which the identifying marks are placed forms a guard for said ends of the arms; to provide a supporting frame for said arms, from which they may be readily removed to, facilitate the removal of articles hanging thereon; to provide means for quickly re versing the position of the supporting frame so that one side thereof may be utilized for arms on which articles are being sorted, while the other side carries arms from which the articles are being removed and checked; to provide means by which the guard for the ends of the arms may be reversed in position so as to dispose it at either side of the support; and to provide various other novel and useful constructions and combinations of parts for simplifying and eXpeditin the work in connection with which the device is used, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rack embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is a detail transverse section showing one of the rack-arms and the socket and guard-plate therefor, Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the number-pinsused in connection with the rack, Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section through one of the heads for the arm-supporting cross-bar, Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a pair of the racks arranged for joint use, Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of the racks, Fig. 7 is a de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1919.

Serial No. 94,282.

tail side view of the displaceable pivoting means for the rack, Fig. 8 is a detail transverse section of the same on the plane of the line 88 of Fig. 7, and Fig. 9 is a detail end view of the pivoting device in another position.

In the illustrated and preferred embodi ment of my invention I provide a main frame consisting principally of pieces of metal pipe or tubing suitably connected by appropriate angular fitttings. At each end of the frame there are two rounded or globular foot-pieces 30 which are connected by elbows 31 with a horizontal piece 32 having a T-fitting 33 at the center thereof, from which a standard 34 extends up vertically. The fittings 33 have side-openings in which are secured the ends of a horizontal bottomrod 35. The upper ends of the standards 3i have spherical heads 36 secured thereon, and beneath said heads there is slidably fitted on each standard a T-head 37 provided'with a set-screw 38 by which it may be secured in adjusted positions on the standard. To the heads 37 are secured the ends of a tubularcross-bar 39 which extends horizontally between the heads, as shown. Upon the crossbar 39 there are fitted a plurality of socketpieces each comprising a collar-portion 40 having a set-screw 41 by which it is secured on the cross-rod, and having a laterally extending portion l2 provided at its inner end with a re. tangular reverse which is continued in the outer portion as a narrow rectangular vertically-extending channel or groove. The socket-portions 42 are arranged to extend alternately on opposite sides of the cross-bar 39 and are upwardly inclined therefrom, as shown. The rack-arms 43 are made from flat rectangular metal bars, of which one edge is beveled off at each end, the pointed ends thus formed being slightly rounded, as shown. In the pointed portions at each end of the bar small transverse openings 44 are made, for a purpose hereinafter set forth. The arms are interchangeable and reversible, and either end thereof may be inserted into the sockets, resting therein as shown in Fig. 2. The arms are easily removable from the sockets by first slightly lifting the outer ends and then sliding them outwardly from the sockets. When properly seated in the sockets, however, the arms are firmly held therein and have no tendency to become displaced therefrom. The pointing of the ends of the arms facilitates their removal from the sockets and their insertion therein, as well as making it easier to pass the outer ends through the marking-pins which are hung thereon, and on account of the reversibility and interchangcability of the arms the operation of placing them in the sockets is greatly expedited.

On each of the standards 34; above the heads 37 there are collars 115 which rest upon the upper ends of said heads and are revolublc about the standards. From said collars 45 integral arms l-G extend diagor nally outward and upward, approximately parallel with the arms 43, and at their outer ends said arms 46 have vertical portions which fit revolubly in sockets therefor in the ends of a flatbar or plate 4 The length of said plate, between the centers of the end-sockets for the arms 46, is the same as the distance between the standards 34, so that by swinging the arms about the vertical axes of the standards, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6, the plate may be positioned alternatively at opposite sides of the frame, being held slightly above and beyond the pointed outer ends of the arms 43. When the plate is so positioned it forms a guard or shield for said pointed ends of the rack-arms, and also provides a surface on which may be marked numbers or other indicia for separately designating each of the adjacent rack-arms. For convenience in marking such indieia upon the plate 47, the surface thereof is referably slated or coated with a composition on which marks may be made with chalk or the like, in contrasting color, and readily erased when it is desired to change the numbers or other markings. The height at which the arms 43 and plate 47 are held, may be varied as desired by adjusting the heads 37 vertically upon the standards 34, thus raising or lowering the cross-bar 39, and also the collars 45 and arm 4-6 which carry the guard-plate.

At the center of the bottom-rod 35 a sleeve 48 is secured thereon, and from said sleeve an integral stem or leg 49 extends down ward so as to be normally quite near to but not in contact with the floor on which the foot-pieces 30 are resting. A shallow metal. dish or concavo-convex plate 50 is provided, having in the center of the concave side thereof a recess 51 adapted to receive the end of the leg 49. The dish 50 is loosely connected with the sleeve 4-8 by means of two chains 52 of which the ends are connected with eyes 53 and 54 on the sleeve and at the edges of the dish, the chains being of such length that when the dish is suspended therefrom it will hang beneath the leg 49 in spaced relation thereto, as shown in Fig. 9. The dish 50 normally rests on the floor at one side of the leg, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, but may be caused to swing in beneath the leg, as in Fig, 9, by lifting one end of the frame and thus raising the leg to such a position as is shown in the latter figure. Then, upon lowering the frame, the end of the leg 1S seated in the recess 51 as shown in Fig. 7, and is thus held in a slightly ele vated position so that most of the weight of the frame will be carried thereon, the frame assuming a slightly inclined position with the tootpieres at one end resting on the floor, and those at the other end raised above the floor. By then slightlylitting the lower end of the frame, or pressing down upon the raised end thereof, the frame will be substantially balanced upon the dish, and while so balapccd it may be easily rotated about a vertical axis passing through the leg and dish.

After rotating the t'rai'ne to any desired position, the leg may be disen gaged from the dish by lifting oue end of the frame enough to raise the leg above the marginal portion of the dish, and then swinging the dish to one side, or by moving the frame laterally far enough to displace the leg from above the dish, while the latter remains in fixed position upon the floor.

From the foregoing, the structure and a part of the operation of the rack will be clearly apparent, but in order to fully perceive the operative utility of the device it is necessary to consider briefly the particular conditions under which it is especially adapted to be used.

It is becoming a common practice for laundries throughout the country to do a great deal of so-called rough-dry work, the same taking the place of the usual domestic laundrying, the laundry ironing only the Hat pieces, and returning the nnseellaneous articles of clothing, etc., dry and starched but un-ironed. It is also a common practice, with the miscellaneous articles of roughdry work, to mark the same for identifica tion and sorting in the laundry, by means of numbered pins, instead of stamping the separate articles with initials, numbers or other permanently-ailixed marks. The work is handled in batches or loads, a load being usually the amount collected by a wagon in one trip, and consisting of from fifteen to thirty bundles each belonging to different persons. A characteristic form of the numbered pins, above mentioned, is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and such pins are provided in sets of thirty or more, each pin of a set having the same number stamped or otherwise marked thereon, and each set of the pins being kept normally in a tray or the like having separate sockets or compartments for each pin. Each bundle of a load is assigned a certain number, and each of the several articles of a bundle has attached thereto one of the pins of the set bearing the number designating such bundle. Each load is handled as a unit throughout the various laundrying operations, so that at the completion of the washing and drying operations the several articles comprised within the load, sometimes several hundred different articles, are mixed up indiscrimi nately and must be sorted into bundles, according to the identification of the pieces afforded by the IIUIIIbQIHPlDS attached'thereto.

Now, in the use of my invention, it is preferable to employ two of the racks jointly, arranging the same in an angular or V-shaped position with respect to each other, as indicated in Fig. 5, the basket or receptacle, containing the pieces to be sorted, being placed in proximity to the spaced ends of the racks, or at the third side of the triangular space between the racks. The guard-plates 47 are turned to the adjacent sides of the two racks and on said plates there is marked with chalk or the like the numbers corresponding to the pins with which the pieces of the several bundles of the load are marked, each of the several numbers on the plates 47 being placed in proximity to the outer pointed end of one of the arms 43. As the workman or sorter removes the several pieces from the receptacle containing them, the pin on each piece is located and said pin is then passed onto the rack-arm designated by the correspondin number on the plate 47. As the sorting 1s continued and the arms become filled, the pieces hanging therefrom will overlap each other more or less owing to the proximity of the arms to each other, but the length of the arms is made such that, allowing for the overlapping of the adjacent pieces, each arm will carry as many pieces as are contained in an ordinary bundle. As the number-pins are placed on the arms they slide to the lower or inner ends there of, owing to the inclined position of the same. When the racks are employed as above described, only those arms on the adjacent sides of the two racks are used to receive the sorted pieces, and it is unnecessary for the Workman to take more than one step away from the receptacle in order to reach and place a piece upon any of the rack-arms. After the sorting of a load has been completed the position of the racks may be reversed, employing the pivotal supporting means afforded by the leg 49 and dish 50, to sustain the racks while they are being turned around. The arms containing the assorted pieces are thus disposed on the outer or remote sides of the racks, While at the inner or adjacent sides the other sets of arms may be placed in the sockets therefor, the plates 47 swung around to positions adjoining the pointed ends of said arms, and marked with numbers corresponding to the pins of another load of articles to be sorted. The sorting of a second load may then procoed as before, and while this is bein done another workman may be removing t e pre viously assorted pieces from the outer sides of the racks, without interfering with the work of the sorter.

The removal of the assorted articles is' most conveniently effected by removing the arms from the sockets, one arm at a time being taken out whilethe several pieces of a bundle are hanging thereon. \Vhen remov ing the loaded arms from the sockets, one of the nnmbenpins may he passed through each of the perforations -14 in the ends of the arms, to prevent the other pins from sliding off said ends. As each of the loaded arms is removed from the rack it is carried to a checking-table, and while still held on the arm the pins are counted to verify the number of pieces in the bundle. The pins are then removed from the arm, and finally from the pieces to which they are attached, and the pieces wrapped into a bundle ready for delivery.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that my invention provides a means for simplifying and greatly expediting the work of sorting rouglrdry laundried articles, enabling the sorting to be done in a very small. space, and the work of the sorter to be continued substantially without interruption, since the sorted bundles may be removed and checked by another workman, after the reversal of the racks, without interfering with the work of the sorter.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a laundry-sorting apparatus. a rack having at the opposite sides thereof a series of detachable arms, a guard-plate adapted to extend adjacent to the ends of said arms and to receive erasable indicia for separately designating the several arms of the series, and detachable means for supporting the rack pivotally upon a vertical axis, whereby the rack may be swung about said axis to present its opposite sides to a fixed point.

2. A sorting-rack for rough-dry laundry, comprising a movable frame having spaced vertical standards, a cross-bar connected With said standards and vertically adjustable thereon, a series of socket-pieces secured on said orossbar and having recessed portions extending laterally therefrom, upwardly inclined arms removably seated in said recessed portions of the socket-pieces, a guard-plate positioned adjacent to the outer ends of said arms, and means supported on the ends of the crossbar for sustaining said guard-plate so that the same will partake of vertical adjustments of the cross-bar.

3. A sorting-rack for rough-dry laundry, comprising a frame having spaced vertical standards, a horizontal cross-bar having its ends adjustably secured to said standards, series of upwardly inclined rack-arms detachably connected with said cross-bar and extending from opposite sides thereof, arms pivoted on the standards above the ends of the cross-bar, and a plate pivotally connected with the ends of said arms and movable by rotation of said arms about the standards from a position adjoining the ends of one series of the rack-arms to a like posilion with respect to the opposite series.

-l. In a sorting-rack for rough-dry laundry, a frame having series of rack-arms extending from opposite sides thereof, spaced. foot-portions normally supporting said frame, a leg arranged symmetrically of the frami and centrally of said foot-portions, and a. part loosely connected with the frame and movable to a position beneath said leg to support the same at a raised position, whereby the frame may be balanced on said leg and moved pivot-ally about a vertical axis passing through the same.

5. In a sorting-rack for rough-dry laundry, a frame having a horizontal crossbar, two series of rack-arms extending from opposite sides of said crossbar, a guard-plate adapted to extend adjacent to the ends of said rack-arms, means pivoted adjacent to the ends of the cross-bar for supporting said guard-plate whereby the same may be moved into position adjacent to either series of the rack-arms, and detachable means for pivotally supporting the frame whereby the same may be rotated about a vertical axis to reverse the position thereof.

(3. In a sorting-rack for rough-dry laundry, a frame having a horizontal verticallyadjnstable portion, a series of socket-pieces secured on said horizontal portion and hav ing parallel recessed laterally extending portions, pointed arms detachably seated in said recessed. portions and extending diagonally upward from the horizontal frame portion, said arms being perforate adjacent to the ends thereof, and a plate spaced slightly from the outer ends of the arms and adapted to receive indicia for separately designating the adjacent arms.

F. L. AUEROCHS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

